


Don't Stop Retrievin'

by GutterBall



Series: Old Dog, New Tricks [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Chuck is still an awkward turtle, Cussing, Herc has permanent heart eyes, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, awkward pining, but Raleigh's almost as bad, one incredibly awkward conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 18:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5939002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GutterBall/pseuds/GutterBall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck's having a hard time knowing what he's about these days. Yeah, he and Raleigh are together, but... what does "together" really mean? He's always telling Raleigh "anything you want", but what does <i>Chuck</i> want? Why does he sometimes just want to look at the pretty bloke?</p><p>And what, exactly, is Herc up to?</p><p>I make no apology for the title.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Stop Retrievin'

Chuck's favorite thing these days was waking up with an armful of Raleigh Becket. Puppy or the human equivalent of a puppy, the pretty bloke felt like he'd always belonged in the curve of Chuck's body, held tight in his arms. Morning, afternoon, middle of the night -- it didn't matter. Waking up with that familiar, comfortable scent in his nose and his face pressed to the nape of Raleigh's neck was the best thing in the world.

Especially when they were naked.

He let his hands roam a bit more these days. Raleigh made the best noises in his sleep before he woke up enough to arc into a slow, body-rolling stretch. Then, he would almost inevitably slump back against him, turn his head, and smile sleepily. Sometimes, they kissed. Sometimes, Chuck just... looked.

Those times, he had a hard time believing. He didn't like to think about those times.

He _loved_ to think about the times they kissed, how Raleigh's skin felt under his hands, against his own skin. How it felt to run his fingers through the bloke's hair. To taste his mouth, even if they hadn't brushed their teeth yet.

Inevitably, one or both of them would tap out before things got too out of hand, but... they were moving in the right direction. He thought. He hoped.

And yet....

The momentary frown faded when Chuck strode into his father's office and found the old man on his knees on the floor, bent over Raleigh's sprawled puppy form, giving the bloke the mother of all bellyrubs. Both hands.

Becket's eyes were rolled back in his head, his little puppy body groaning in utter bliss.

"Oi, should I be jealous?"

Herc ignored him, continuing the vigorous bellyrubs. Raleigh, to his credit, rolled his ridiculous puppy eyes Chuck's away and let his tongue loll out, groaning again down in his chest. It was impossibly adorable, even though Chuck knew how that groan would sound if the bloke were human right now.

Definitely not the time to think about that.

"No worries, son." The old man grinned up at him, switching the bellyrubs to just one hand. "Raleigh and I were just having a chat." Now, a scritch under the chin. "Weren't we, mate?"

The little bloke made one of his fucking precious happy noises and lurched over onto his feet, giving himself a good shake to settle his fur. Then, in perhaps the sappiest move Chuck had ever seen, the puppy reached up and licked Herc's chin. Worse still, the old man got that look on his face again. That "my boy finally found his future mate and he's _adorable"_ look.

Raleigh called it "heart eyes", and Chuck couldn't help but agree that the term fit. The old man was happy as a pig in shit, even though neither of them had made any kind of announcement.

Well, Raleigh _might_ have. Chuck was almost sure he'd heard correctly. But that was a whole other kettle of kaiju shit.

Shoving it all aside, he knelt down and grinned. "You ready to shift back, then?"

The little wiggler trotted over and glomped up onto him, tail wagging, tongue licking everywhere he could reach. Snorting, Chuck obliged with stroking hands and a kiss to the cold, wet nose. Whether man or puppy, Raleigh was usually pretty damn glad to see him these days, and it never failed to make Chuck feel--

Sighing, he shook his head. He didn't have the vocabulary for happiness. He had no idea what he was feeling. He just knew it scared the shit out of him and he wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

"Is that a yes?"

That was definitely an affirmative puppy noise.

"Walk or carry?" God, he spoiled the little bloke shamelessly. Chuck determinedly didn't look at his old man. "You look pretty energetic to me."

Immediately, the silly sausage dropped to the floor and flopped to his side, tongue hanging out, panting heavily, if superfluously.

He snorted again. "Oi, you cheeky fuck." But because he was a complete sap himself these days, he scooped the lazy bastard up and cuddled him against his chest. "You're starting to take me for granted, yeah?"

And now he had puppy drool on his cheek and nose. He might also be blushing, but since Herc was doing his dumb "heart eyes" look again, he figured he was safe enough.

"You boys have fun."

And the old bastard would _not_ let up with the innuendo. Maybe it wouldn't embarrass him so much if they were actually having sex, but since they were still in the "you were my enemy less than a month ago so I dunno if I can safely fuck you yet" stage of their... whatever they were doing, the meaning-heavy little drop-ins made Chuck want to squirm in his civvies.

So, grateful for the chance to escape before anything more eyebrow waggle-worthy was said, Chuck carried the again-wriggly puppy he'd saddled himself with out the door. He was ten steps down the hall when he belatedly realized Max had been asleep on the usual pile of clothes in the corner all along. If he hadn't been so preoccupied....

But he was preoccupied a lot lately, and the little blighter in his arms was the reason why. Because they talked a lot now, which Chuck unashamedly enjoyed, and during those conversations, Raleigh sometimes asked... questions.

Which Chuck _didn't_ love. Because, most of the time, he didn't have the answers.

"You're getting heavy, mate." Because changing the mental subject was so much easier than circling around the same issues over and over. "Growing faster than I expected."

Raleigh dog-grinned, his tongue lolling. While the bloke admitted that being a puppy had its perks, the poor sod could not wait to stop being so stupidly adorable in dog form. Chuck was ambivalent. He rather liked that the bloke was smaller and more precious than he was. Flipped all his protective switches, now that the kaiju were at least temporarily gone.

But it'd be nice to not have to worry about him whilst he was out puppying about. Yeah, Max was the best enforcer ever, but Raleigh still sometimes slipped his guard and ran off on his own. Usually, it was just to visit Mako or Tendo or even Herc, but still.

Shrugging the whole matter off, since it really wasn't his call to make, he let the little bloke down as soon as they were behind closed doors and didn't bother looking away whilst Raleigh shifted back. He couldn't help the slow smile or the general look of appreciation he knew was all over him. He didn't even try.

Raleigh Becket was gorgeous. He'd long since come to terms with the fact.

Thankfully, the bloke no longer looked embarrassed if he caught Chuck looking. In fact, it could be said that he actively posed. Maybe even flexed a bit. Either way, Chuck didn't hesitate to step forward and lean in, silently asking for a kiss. With a content sigh, the pretty bastard complied.

It was just a quick greeting, a "welcome back to your regular body" gesture, though Raleigh winked and smirked as he turned to pull on some loose clothes.

"Herc was really chatty today."

Oh, God. What had the old man done now? Chuck didn't for one second believe that blurt in the mess hall had been an accident. Herc was never stupid; he just sometimes like to play such when he thought people around him weren't acting up to snuff.

Honestly, Chuck wouldn't have said anything if his old man hadn't blurted. For several reasons. For _all_ the reasons.

"I think he was feeling kinda down, actually." Pulling on a t-shirt, the bloke shot him a careful look. "He started talking about... your mother."

He didn't react. If he breathed in a bit more heavily than usual, Raleigh didn't seem to notice.

"Is... Chuck, are you okay? Would you rather me not talk about it?"

Okay, so Raleigh had noticed. Of course he had. Stupidity was not one of the bloke's faults.

"I'm sorry. I just thought it was weird. We don't have to talk about it."

He swallowed hard, getting ahold of himself. "No, mate. It's... it's fine. Just... we don't." He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. "Talk about her, I mean. Even now."

Raleigh really was a good sort. "I definitely understand. I just thought it was strange, and...."

He nodded, uncomfortable and wishing they could just go back to this morning, when they'd awakened all tangled together and snuggly and warm. That slow smile. The hazy eyes.

"I just...."

_Jesus, Raleigh._

"He said something that... gave me pause. I just... can I... can I ask about it?"

To his credit, Raleigh wasn't using the puppy eyes. Instead, the bloke looked serious as a kaiju alarm, though not as dramatic. Sighing, he grudgingly admitted that the silly sausage didn't _need_ the puppy eyes.

Chuck had a hard time denying him anything these days.

"Oi, go on, then. Can't have you pausing, now, can we?"

He meant to take the piss, but the bloke just kept looking at him, serious as anything. Then, the pretty bastard sat down on the edge of the bed and touched the mattress beside him. Chuck didn't even have to mull it over. He sat down, close but not touching.

"Herc said your mother never turned him because she was turned herself as a child, not born. She physically couldn't."

Okay, that wasn't too bad. Nodding, he relaxed a bit.

"He also said she always swore she wouldn't have, anyway. He got the impression her turning wasn't exactly her choice, though she never said."

Again, nothing he didn't know, so he nodded. Unfortunately, for the first time, Raleigh shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"He said you never talked about maybe turning anyone, and he was pretty sure that was out of respect for her wishes. Because she wouldn't, even if she could."

Uh-oh. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"So...." A flash of blue before the bloke looked away again. "Why did you turn me?"

Fuck. _Fuck._ That was the question, wasn't it? That's what Chuck danced around in his own mind every single day.

Because the truth was... he didn't know. Turning Raleigh as he lay medically dead in his escape pod hadn't been a choice. He'd done it without even thinking.

He didn't know why. He just... did it.

He wanted to shift. He didn't want to talk about this. Dammit, he didn't know what to do with all this feeling shite. He _wanted_ the bloke. Wasn't that enough?

It wasn't like he regretted turning Raleigh. Even after that first retaliatory punch to his nose, he didn't regret turning the bloke. And... he _liked_ the silly bastard, which had surprised him at first. They'd had a rough start, yeah, but Chuck had already put most of that behind him by the time they headed for the Breach.

"Chuck? It's okay. We don't have to. Just... forget I said anything."

But the bloke looked pale. Pale enough that it broke through the fog Chuck suddenly found himself in, and as Raleigh started to stand away from the bed, Chuck reached out and put a hand on his thigh. He didn't grip. Just... a touch. An encouragement to stay.

So Raleigh stayed, though he looked massively uncomfortable now.

He cleared his throat. "Raleigh... the truth is...."

What? The truth was what? That he'd seen Mako dive off her pod and swim for another and had done the same before he even realized what he was doing? That he'd heard her tell Loccent that the bloke wasn't breathing and she couldn't find a pulse? That shoving her aside and following his first instinct hadn't even been a rational thought?

Would that comfort the bloke or make him pale further?

Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath. "The truth is, I couldn't let you die. I'm not sure why. I just know I couldn't."

The bloke eyed him, still so serious, for a long moment. "Did you know then?"

When Chuck frowned in confusion, the silly sod gestured between them. Oh.

"Uh... no? Sorry, mate, but...."

Was that true? He wasn't sure. Hell, he didn't even know what he felt right now. He just... wanted Raleigh to stay. Even then, he'd wanted Raleigh to stay. Wanted to be around him. With him.

_...Oh._

He blinked, then realized Raleigh had looked away again, his eyes downcast, those fuck-all lashes shading his cheeks. And it suddenly struck him.

He was almost positive the bloke had quietly asked if it was okay to love him a week or so ago. And Chuck hadn't responded or changed his behavior in any way.

Shit.

"Raleigh?"

"Hm?" But the bloke didn't look at him.

He was hurting him. Chuck was _hurting_ Raleigh with his wishy-washiness. Jesus, maybe he'd been hurting the bloke all along. Even when Chuck was the one saying he wanted them to be together, he hadn't been... clear. Not even to himself. _Together._ It was just a word. It didn't mean anything.

Except it did. Because they hadn't been building toward sex this whole time. They'd been building toward a relationship. At least, Raleigh had.

Chuck had been... going with the flow. Because he didn't want to ask himself _why_ he was going with the flow. And he hid it behind "anything you want". Behind letting Raleigh choose the pace and direction.

Had Herc known all along? Was that maybe why the old bastard had faux-blurted? To prod Chuck, not Raleigh?

How had he not realized what he meant every time he told Raleigh he could have anything he wanted? Jesus, was he really so blind?

He wasn't a sucker for puppy eyes. He was a sucker for _Raleigh's_ eyes. He was a sucker for cuddling _Raleigh's_ body, be it human or dog. He wanted to talk with _Raleigh_ all the time because....

"Oi, Raleigh, look at me, yeah?"

Sighing, the bloke grudgingly looked his direction without meeting his eyes.

"Mate, I didn't know then. I swear." He tentatively reached over and lay his hand on Raleigh's thigh again. Time to be honest. With himself, as well as with the bloke he'd turned. "This is gonna sound stupid, but... I don't think I knew until Max sniffed your ass and you slunk away with your tail between your legs."

Huffing an incredulous laugh, the silly sausage finally met his eyes. Chuck grinned crookedly.

"You looked so goddamn pitiful. It broke my heart. I felt like such an asshole for making you look like that. I decided right then and there that I'd do just about anything to make sure you didn't look like that again, yeah?" Shrugging, he decided to be more honest still. "I didn't know why. I just... from that second on, it was anything you wanted."

Brightening but still wary, Raleigh eyed him. "You really didn't know before that?"

He tilted his head. _Had_ he known sooner? He mostly remembered being ridiculously fond of the puppy he'd created and vaguely wishing Raleigh stuck around more when they shifted back. Sure, it had been something of a revelation to wake up naked with the bloke in public, but....

"I... don't think so? Why?"

The silly sod raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm remembering the time frame wrong, but I'd swear Mako told me right after that that you wouldn't be averse to claiming me somewhere down the line. I guess I assumed you'd talked to Herc about it, and he passed it on to her."

His jaw dropped. "No, he fucking didn't!"

The bloke's eyes widened. "I don't know, honestly. But how would Mako know if Herc didn't tell her?"

That. Crafty. _Bastard._

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Chuck?"

"He fucking planned this! _Orchestrated_ it!"

He didn't realize he was spinning out until Raleigh grabbed his face in both hands and forced Chuck to look him in the eye.

"What are you talking about?"

Forcing himself to calm down, he grunted. "Ray, I never talked to Dad about _any_ of this. Are you fucking kidding me? I didn't even want to acknowledge _to myself_ that I somehow fell in fucking love with you until just now."

Oh. Shit.

The gorgeous bastard lit up like a fireworks finale. "You're in love with me?"

Blushing, he jerked his head out of the bloke's grasp. "Oi, not the point!"

"Yes, it is!"

The fucking human puppy glomped him so hard they both fell over and almost off the goddamn bed. Desperate kisses damn near smothered him, but Chuck found it increasingly difficult to mind. In less than a minute, he gave up entirely and surged up to kiss the pretty bloke senseless, his fingers threading back into the thick, satiny hair and gripping it tight.

He was rock hard in record time, Raleigh's heavy, muscled body rolling ceaselessly against his. Jesus, if they didn't get their clothes off right now, he wouldn't be held responsible for the mess he made in his trousers.

"Raleigh...."

Nope. More kisses. He could not get enough of that tongue in his mouth. Groaning, he put a foot to the floor and shoved up hard, rolling them further onto the mattress and conveniently putting himself on top. Raleigh didn't protest. In fact, the bloke's kisses became even more frantic, his hands lowering to tug at the hem of Chuck's shirt.

_Hell yes._

Shrugging out of the constrictive fabric, Chuck tossed the shirt aside and returned to Raleigh's mouth. Strong hands stroked down his back and... oh, yes... groped down over his ass. The bloke arched up against him, easily as hard and ready as Chuck.

No. Not yet. They needed to talk about this.

Whimpering, he tore his mouth away from Raleigh's, panting as hard as if he'd just run around the 'dome a hundred times. Worse, the poor sod whimpered back, arching against him and leaning up to kiss him again.

"Oi, slow down a minute, mate." Still gasping, he allowed a quick, biting kiss. "Raleigh, stop a minute, yeah? I'm gonna come in my trousers, and I haven't done that since puberty."

A surprised laugh huffed out of the bloke. Thankfully, it broke some of the suddenly heart-pounding mood, and Raleigh eased back to lie more quietly below him. Grinning a bit, Chuck looked down at the gorgeous puppy he'd somehow ended up with and... yeah. Just looked.

He hadn't wanted to think about those times where he looked without touching, but... at least he knew why he did it, now.

"You're not mad at your dad, are you?"

Huh? Oh, right.

He rolled his eyes. "A bit, yeah. Didn't know he was that devious." His overdone irritation faded. "Not that I'm arguing with the results."

The pretty bastard blushed, looking almost as adorable as when he was a puppy. "Yeah, well...."

Well aware that he looked like the sappiest idiot in Hong Kong, Chuck just... smiled down at the bloke. Took in the flush over his cheeks and nose. The shape of the plush mouth. The impossible blue of his eyes and the heavy fringe of stupidly long lashes.

Shifting a bit -- and reminding Chuck that he should probably get off the bloke sometime soon -- Raleigh blushed harder. "You're staring."

"Sorry." But he didn't stop. Nor did he stop smiling like an idiot.

He did shift a bit when the silly sausage lightly dragged his fingertips up his bare back.

"So... what do we do now?"

Tilting his head, Chuck raised an eyebrow in question.

Again, the blush deepened, spreading all the way to the tips of the bloke's ears. "I mean... you love me, and I love you...?"

His smile shifted to a smirk, and he leaned down on one elbow. "Are you asking about claiming?"

Jesus. If the poor bastard blushed any harder, he wouldn't have enough blood left for the hard-on digging into Chuck's thigh.

"I just...." Swallowing hard, Raleigh shifted around again, not helping either of them. "I mean... are there rules? What's involved? Do you have to bite me again? Is there knotting? Do I have to--"

He jerked away again, this time far enough to sit back on the bastard's groin, straddling him. "Whoa, whoa... _knotting?_ What the fuck, mate?"

Damn near purple with embarrassment, the silly fuck leaned up on his elbows, looking excruciatingly uncomfortable. "That's how dogs do it!"

Blushing now, himself, Chuck clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Jesus Christ in a one-legged jaeger, Ray!"

"I don't know how I feel about that, okay??"

Taking a deep breath to center himself, Chuck eventually glared at the rotten sod he supposed he still loved. "I have never had sex as a dog. Nor do I plan to." How the fuck was this even a topic of conversation? "I have a normal human dick, Ray. We are never talking about knotting again, understood?"

"Good!"

They both looked away, then snuck glances at each other at the same time. And immediately started giggling. Fucking _giggling,_ like little kids.

"I can't believe you just asked me that."

Looking one fuck of a lot more comfortable with the conversation now, Raleigh grinned and shrugged. "Not gonna lie; it's been bothering me."

Snorting, he shifted to lie back down, this time at the silly wanker's side. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"Yeah, yeah." The bloke rolled his eyes. "But what about the rest of it?"

His good mood slipped a bit, his grin fading. "...Can we talk about it another time?"

As in tune with Chuck's mood as ever, Raleigh frowned a bit and reached out to touch his cheek. It was a question and a comfort, all at the same time.

Swallowing hard, he shrugged. "The only time I've ever talked about it was with Mum, yeah?"

And he wasn't ready to go there yet. He would. _They_ would. But... not yet.

And Raleigh, good bloke that he was, only nodded. And grinned softly. "Anything you want."

Huffing, he shook his head. "That's my line."

Eyes soft, the bloke shrugged. "It goes both ways."

And that... was nice to hear. Now that Chuck was ready to hear it.

So, nodding, he scooted down to cuddle up to the human puppy he... ugh... _loved._ It was sappy and stupid and he should probably hate it. But he didn't.

He'd said before that he wanted to come back from Pitfall because he quite liked his life. As he snuggled close enough to bury his face in Raleigh's neck, he finally acknowledged that he might not have been entirely truthful then. In fact, he'd been a bit of a mess.

But now?

With Raleigh's scent in his nose and Raleigh's taste in his mouth and the urgency of his hard-on fading as they curled together, Chuck decided it was true, after all.

He quite liked his life.

So, happy for the first time in recent memory, he smiled against his future mate and fell asleep.

**THE END**


End file.
